Production of Ibuprofen-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Using Rapid Expansion of Supercritical Solution

The purpose of this study was to prepare ibuprofen loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (IBU-SLNs) that is, effective in oral drug delivery. IBU-SLNs were synthesized by co-precipitation of rapid expansion of supercritical solution (CO-RESS). The produced SLNs consisted of stearic acid as lipid matrix. The unprocessed stearic acid, ibuprofen and IBU-SLNs were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). XRD patterns along with DSC showed that ibuprofen was present in both amorphous and crystalline form within lipid matrix. FTIR showed that molecular interactions that could alter the chemical structure of the IBU did not occur. The RESS process could produce ultrafine spherical particles of SLNs with high drug loading capacity. The IBU dissolution profile showed that the formulated SLNs have effectively increased the IBU solubility.